The actress is in negotiations to join Benedict Cumberbatch in Marvel Studios' Doctor Strange, being directed by Scott Derrickson.

Strangeis Marvel's supernatural hero, a formerly cocky surgeon who loses the use of his hands, and while on a last ditch attempt to heal himself, discovers magic.

Strange's mentor is a Tibetan mystic known as the Ancient One, who is training pupils to be the next sorcerer supreme. In the comics, the character has been a male, and Marvel Studios initially was searching for a male actor.

But the studio rethought the role and has now made it female. If a deal makes, Swinton will play the Ancient One.

Strange has a release date of Nov. 4, 2016. The movie is due to begin shooting November in the U.K.

Kevin Feige is producing.

Joining a Marvel movie is the latest move for Swinton, whose film résumé reveals an actress that refuses to be pigeonholed in any way.

The actress will be seen with Amy Schumer in Judd Apatow's new comedy, Trainwreck, and has appeared in the last two Wes Anderson movies, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Moonrise Kingdom. In between, she gave a show stopping performance as a brutally poised but unbalanced villainess in Snowpiercer, Joon-ho Bong's sci-fi movie that starred Chris Evans.

She won an Oscar for best supporting actress for 2007's Michael Clayton and played the angel Gabriel in the 2005 adaptation of DC Entertainment's comic Constantine.